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tv   Americas Newsroom  FOX News  December 24, 2012 6:00am-8:00am PST

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what's in your wallet? >> clayton: did you distill this yourselves? >> i don't make it. that's made in gatlin burg, tennessee. in the mountains of east ten continue there. >> rick: we love guests who come with lifts like that. >> gretchen: he'll have a special christmas this year 'cause his daughter turned one. so christmas is so different when you have little one. >> it is, man. we had her birthday on wednesday, of course, she doesn't know the difference right now. but she's just absolutely adorable and can't wait to get back today to see her. >> clayton: you'll play more on our after the show show. there is a picture of her. join us on the an the show show. >> gretchen: merry christmas, everybody. >> clayton: merry christmas. press zones and spending
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time in a louisiana hospital, u.s. marine veteran john hammar is on his way home just in time for christmas. good morning everyone, i'm greg jat in for. >> i'm martha maccallum. after spending for four months in prison in mexico on a questionable gun charge. hammar was arrested when he tried to cross the border with a antique shotgun his family said was an heirloom. steve harrigan is live. >> reporter: after four long months the 27-year-old former marine was released from the notorious prison late friday night after several hours of paperwork. he was accompanied by u.s. consular officials from the border between mexico and texas. he met his father and the two began the drive home. they had to stop off yesterday in a hospital in louisiana room in louisiana,
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john hammar suffering from the stomach flu. having trouble keeping food down. the goal was to get him home for christmas. looks like it will happen now. heather? >> steve, quite an ordeal for the family to say the very least >> reporter: a very tough time. they received threats, ex-torgs attempts threatening jon would be killed unless they paid money. his mother said only once he crossed the border that she could finally relax. >> it was my first night that i slept all night long without getting up. it was just the thought of not wondering what is going on with him, can anyone hurt him tonight? that kind of thoughts. >> reporter: the family initially tried to work behind the scenes for jon's release, after that failed they mounted a very public campaign, eliciting friend
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here in the community as well as their congresswoman and two senators. it was really the public pressure which really pushed his release up early. back to you guys in new york. >> good christmas present for that family. thank you, steve. gregg? gregg: as steve mentioned jon hammar's mother made a tireless effort in recent weeks to draw attention to the case. here are more of her remarks from yesterday. >> it was like my first night that slept all night loaning without getting up and it was just, the thought of not wondering what is going on with him. can anyone hurt him tonight you know, those kind of thoughts. he is eating. he is able to have a meal. it is, i honestly can't totally process it i think until he's here. gregg: republican congresswoman ileana ros-lehtinen of florida worked with the hammars to win jon's release. she is chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. always great talking to you. thanks so much. >> thank you. gregg: jon hammar's parents
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says the state department was really not lifting a finger to help. in fact they were very discouraging about it. then the white house when asked just a few days ago seemed utterly owe live just didn't know anything about it and clearly wasn't do anything. you would think the commander-in-chief would go to bat for a marine that fought in two wars here. what was going on? why wasn't our government helping? >> it was bewildering. the parents tried to do it low-key. they couldn't get the case resolved. they came to me and our two wonderful u.s. senators. thanks to fox. thanks to o'reilly, sean hannity, greta, all of you were so helpful. all the press helped but you guys came to bat. that's why i don't really understand or believe that during a white house press briefing that the white house spokesperson said, oh, i don't know about the case. baloney. everybody had known about the case. gregg: they knew. >> we had been bringing that
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up. gregg: right. >> this is a family of strong christian faith. for them, as we celebrate the birth of christ tonight what a more meaningful present than, than the god delivering their son to them tonight. gregg: look, we want to talk to you about a couple of subjects here and that one, thankfully turned out well. let's turn now to benghazi because you are very involved in this. an independent investigation, i know you read it, produced this blisser iting report what they refer to as systemic failures in the very department that is headed by hillary clinton. apparently the state department and, you read through this report, they were utterly clueless about the threats and dangers in libya. how much plame rests on the shoulders of hillary clinton? what do you want to hear from her when she finally testifies? >> well of course the blame is on the libyan terrorists and we don't want to minimize that but when it
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comes to the things we can control, our own government i think the state department and the obama administration as a whole must be made accountable. this was a terrorist attack that where four americans diplomats were murdered. gregg: should she want to know, should she have been involved in security? >> not only should she have known, i want to know why in the seven hours that this firefight took place why did this accountability review board not even interview hillary clinton? she was just presented with the report. at no time was she interviewed. gregg: yeah. >> what did she do during those seven hours? where was president obama during those seven hours? in a fund-raiser in las vegas? why weren't they trying to do something, scramble a jet so that the terrorists would no the u.s. is there? gregg: we looked into this. f-18 at mach can get there in half an hour from our nearest base in italy. now our sources tell us, tell fox news, that three
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requests were made by those people who were under fire and lost their lives for help, for a rescue, for something. they even painted a laser target on the enemy that was shelling them. and nothing happened. three requests were turned down. petraeus said it wasn't the cia that turned that down. does that mean it was the president? >> we want to find out and only by having secretary clinton appear before our committee sometime before mid-january will we be able to know. what did she know and when did she know it? was she given real-time intelligence? remember intelligence reports were coming, even before 9/11, to say this is a soft target. this is easy picks. there are extremist elements all around this consulate. why were those security requests denied. gregg: right. >> and then on that day for seven hours we couldn't even scrap bell one jet to show
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support? there had to be a much better way. gregg: "the american spectator" wrote, obama's fingerprints is all over this refusal. no one in the cia command --, failure has to be obama's. no one else could have denied the real-time request. look the incompetence legally identified in this report explain why there was alleged cover-up of the truth by the administration? >> because there is no doubt about it. for the next few days and even weeks, they were still spinning this report of an obscure video and spontaneous protests and what we have seen from all of the footages there was no protest at all. and that there was no mention of any video by these terrorists. so shame on everyone involved in this. four americans are dead. we need to prevent this in the future. in order to do that, we need
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to find out what went wrong. gregg: maybe congress can get to the bottom of it. i will ian that ros-lehtinen, thanks so much for being with us. >> thank you. gregg: merry christmas, you too. heather: navy mourning loss of one of their own. seal team commander, joe price, died of a quote, noncombat related injury. he was 42. a u.s. military official says the death is being investigated as apparent suicide. commander price oversaw two dozen commandos and support staff conducting counterterrorism operations in central afghanistan. gregg: a afghan police woman killed an american advise soar at the kabul police headquarters. no word yet exactly how it happened. it is still unclear whether the victim was u.s. military or civilian advisor. more than 50 international troops have been killed by afghan soldiers or police this year alone.
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and a number of other insider attacks are still under investigation. heather: no retreat by either side in the growing debate over gun control in the aftermath of the sandy hook elementary school tragedy. the head of the nra, standing by his comments about preventing similar mass curse. >> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children, then call me crazy. i will tell you what the american people, i think the american people think it is crazy not to do it. it is not going to make any kids safer. we have to get to the real problem, the real causes and that's what the nra is trying to do. there are so many different ways to evade that if you had that. you had that for 10 years when dianne feinstein passed the ban in '94. columbine occurred right in the middle of it. it didn't make any difference. i think that is phony piece of legislation and i do not believe it will pass for this reason. it is all built on lies that have been found out.
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heather: gun control advocates equally adamant about their position. here's democratic senator charles schumer. >> he was so extreme and so tone deaf, not even saying that guns had any part of the problem. that he actually probably helped us as we tried to pass sensible gun legislation in the congress. now he says, he says, the only, the best way, the way, here is what he says. the way to stop a bad guy with guns is have a good guy with guns. why don't we stop the bad guy from getting the gun in the first place? that is the more logical thing to do, rather than wait for a shootout in our schools. god forbid. heather: president obama is vowing to push for a some form of unabout control in the new year. we will have more on this debate in the next hour. gregg: as residents of newtown, connecticut, still struggle with the school shooting there, the stories of selfless heroism keep
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pouring in. one woman's emotional story how the elf meant tri tri school's principal helped save her life. heather: bracing for what could be a big strike at some of the biggest ports in america. dock workers could be hitting the picket lines on the east and gulf coast this week. we'll take a closer look what kind of impact that could have on the economy. gregg: mother nature not making it easy for millions of folks rushing to get home for christmas. we're live at the nation's busiest airport. [ roasting firewood ]
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gregg: a week after the school shooting in newtown, connecticut, and we're still hearing many stories of heroism in the middle of all that violence. we're hearing from a woman that worked as a reading consultant in the elementary school. she said the principal saved her life when the gunman opened fire. my principal dawn hochsprung and mary sherlach,
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they went out in the hall to check out the noise. they didn't know it was gunshots. when they realized it was gunshots, natalie hammed monday, the three of them were shot and yelled back, shooter stay put. they saved my life and life of four others at that meeting. my message that i want all school people to know, anyone who has children in school, that works in a school, please be sure the door is locked from the inside. because our did not, teachers can't be out in a hall when a shooter is present in your school. that simple thing can make a difference in time and safety of the children. make sure the doors lock from the inside. that is what i want to say. i want to tell you that i'm very proud to work at sandy hook school and so many heroes were there that day. thank you. gregg: dawn hochsprung, the principal of sandy hook elementary school.
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and mary sherlach were among the six adults shot and killed in that terrible massacre. heather: in other news, we are hearing warnings this morning that the u.s. economy is about to take a hit that it can hardly afford. after going on strike out west, remember that? dock workers, they are gearing up to do it on the east and gulf coast by the end of the week. now the work stoppage threatens vital shipments and is predicted to show up from our factories to our storefronts. dennis kneale from the fox business network joins me with more on this dennis, we're talking about a strike on this time that would number in the thousands and massachusetts all, close the way to texas. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, heather. you're talking 14 ports along the east and gulf coasts. shipments of retail goods, food, components used in manufacturing. the international
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longshoreman's union will continue to deliver certain other kinds of things like military cargo, some perishables and some mail but no container ships, that the trucks transport across america. frozen foods, wholesale goods, clothings. the dispute for 15,000 dock workers represented by the longshoremen, is something, cargo fees go on to each container and fees supplement salaries and pay for workers. the companies want a chance to cap the fees, set a maximum limit. the union says that is off limits. no way we're not going to do that. maritime management representing ports taking a hard long. apparently like a lockout what they do in sports. they turned down an offer by the union to extend the current contract to the end of january. so they're kind of putting pressure on them. the union in a very interesting situation. they're affiliated with the afl-cio, stalwart allies of the obama administration. would they really hurt the
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economy this way? because, a similar strike for 10 days along the west coast ten years ago cost a billion dollars a day in lost revenue to the u.s. economy. so would the unions that helped reelect president obama actually be willing to hurt the economy and hurt the obama economy at a time when you've got a big backlash against unions? worry on the part of the public about pension costs for government employees. michigan passing a right to work law so you don't have to join a union in one of the most unionized states anywhere and demise of twinkies when a bakers union refused to accept any concessions at all on retirement costs. it is always money at heart of the these disputes and unions seem to be getting harder and harder edged about this. let's remember unions represent less than 7% of the private workforce in this nation. they represent 40% of the government workers. here we've got a private union strike that could
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happen starting this coming sunday t could be crippling. which means they will sell it fast. heather: neither said no to renewing talks. the national trade associations, they have even appealed to president obama use the taft-hartley injunction to hold off this strike for 80 days. >> reporter: right. to force them to get back to the table and negotiate. you have to wonder how this will turn out. i wish them luck on both sides. heather: thank you so much, dennis. >> reporter: thank you, heather the. gregg: snow, rain, freezing drizzle making it a pretty tough ride to grandma's house today. we're live at the world's busiest airport with the very latest straight ahead. heather: no peace in the middle east as fighting gets worse at a country already coming apart at the seams. report how the situation in syria is heading downhill fast. [sirens]
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heather: welcome back. one arizona family has a lot to be grateful for this christmas now that their daughter is free after a very frightening ordeal. 22-year-old sara trevino, serving a missionary for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints in guatemala city, when she and a companion were kidnapped last week. her parents described their
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ordeal like this. >> with grief and despair and helpless. she is so far away and nothing you can do. you're sitting at their mercy. whatever their ransom is and whatever their demands are. >> i didn't know what to do. my dad was crying and my mom was crying. i thought i would not be able to see her again. >> she could finish stateside and take an easy route. she said she feels that is where she needs to be. she knows god was protecting her since this whole ordeal. she could feel angels protecting her and her companion while the whole thing unfold. never once did they fear for her life. wow, she is alive and put christmas in perspective. heather: fortunately the girls were not hurt. in fact sara told her parents she and her companion tried to reach out to their captors to teach them about their faith. gregg: a horrific scene in syria. airstrike by government forces on a crowded bakery reportedly killing dozens of
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people who were simply standing there waiting in line to buy bread, adding to the chaos of a country coming apart at the seams. leland vittert alive in bethlehem in the west bank. leland, is syria on the verge of a total collapse? >> reporter: it certainly seems that way, gregg, if and when president assad falls and splitting apart along the seams but the seams are drawn along religious lines. late video coming to us at a what rebels call a bakery bombing allegedly syrian air force dropped bombs. a lot of keen observers looking at video it appears there is lot of armed men wearing camouflage among the wounded or possibly dead there, calling into question whether this was a bakery line or whether this was some type of rebel camp. either way it is clear that the rebels are inside of these cities and that's where they are taking hold and moving and around the population. this is what happens sadly in these kind of civil wars.
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we know they're inside syria. there is increasing medical shortage going on in terms of the ability to treat any of the victims, whether they be civilians or rebel fighters from these kinds of airstrikes. it really boils home as much as we've been talking about the ability of the syrian rebels to push into other cities, that the syrian air force still controls the skies and is still able to bomb, seemingly with impunity. gregg? gregg: is there any way to know, leland, whether the rebels are making headway in toppling the assad government? >> reporter: it certainly seems in the past couple of weeks the rebels are making strides. the videos we're seeing they're better armed, better equipped, better organized and command-and-control structure and they're able to take out a lot of syrian government positions particularly in the north. now we're seeing syrian rebels starting to move into towns that are predominantly christian or predominantly alawhite towns.
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this will be a big change for them. they will not be able to move among a population so much in their favor primarily sunni muslim towns. as they move into shia muslim towns, alawite towns and christian towns, the populations will be pro-government. it will be a more difficult procedure to then route those government forces. gregg. >> finally, obviously you're in bethlehem for christmas and every year people all over the year make pilgrimages to bethlehem. what is it like this year? >> reporter: that is probably the most amazing thing about the middle east. you have this civil war raging a couple of hundred miles to our north. here in bethlehem it is christmastime. i will step out of the way. here is manger square. a huge christmas tree and behind me the church of the nativity. they are getting ready for midnight mass inside the church. that is a little bit more than 7 hours away here.
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that is when the last patriarch will proclaim the first christmas. we have video of the palestinian boy scouts marching through. it is a magical scene. it is very different christmas in bethlehem what you experience in the united states. it is a lot more about the faith. it is a lot more about spirituality. i was talking to one american visiting, who said from their time here they really got a sense what the bible meant. you see all the sites that are talked about. you get a sense of different parts of the area and geography. just experiencing that brought them much closer to their faith coming here to the holy land at this very, very special time. gregg: i remember being there one december and it was totally vacant. during the entifadh today. people were too scared to go to bethlehem. the stores were all shuttered. nobody was there. the square was vacant. it was a very sad time. so it is nice to see a turnaround. leland vittert, live in bethelehem. leland, thanks.
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heather: coming up, a major winter storm working its way across the country right now causing dangerous drives conditions and possible flight delays. the latest from the fox extreme weather center is up next. gregg: and just eight days left until massive tax hikes and spending cuts kick in affecting the lives of every single american. so with washington on vacation, is this now simply unavoidable? we'll take a look for answers next. >> i think the president is eager to go over the cliff for political purposes. i think he see as political victory at the bottom of the cliff.
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heather: we have breaking news of yet another shooting. just crossing the wires. report that is a gunman has opened fire on firefighters responding to an emergency. this happening in webster, new york, near lake ontario. david lee miller live in our new york newsroom with the latest.
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david lee, what can you tell us? >> reporter: many details are still sketchy, heather but at this hour i can tell you firefighters were responding to a blaze at 6:00 this morning in the town of webster. webster is a suburb of rochester, new york. it is difficult to fight a fire when temperatures are 30 degrees. someone according to media reports, someone opened fire on firefighters. two firefighters are being treated. they will not disclose to fox news the reason for the ailment. the ap is quoting a local newspaper saying one firefighter is listed in satisfactory condition. officials are telling local mediaone of the firefighters was hit in the back side by someone again who opened fire. you can see that the house is still burning. it has spread to a second home. there are report that is the area is not secure and because of that, firefighters are unable to battle the blaze. local residents are being evacuated. a special s.w.a.t. team has now been brought in to
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evacuate them. residents who do not want to leave are told to stay away from any open windows. this is story very much developing. so far no explanation why someone apparently opened fire on firefighters in the town of webster in up state new york. again that blaze continues to burn. heather? heather: david lee miller from our new york city newsroom. keep an eye on it for us and we'll check back with you. thank you. gregg: fox extreme weather alert. a major winter storm that dumped heavy rain and storm across the west coast over the weekend is working its way across the country right now and posing travel headaches for millions of folks during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. elizabeth prann following it at well the busiest airport in the world, atlanta hartsfield-jackson airport. elizabeth, how are things
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looking for travelers there? >> reporter: right now, certainly the calm probably before the storm. we're seeing a lot of travelers that are getting some delays. we are seeing congestion at airports across the nation this morning. we saw the map. all the airports were green. everything was on time. slowly but surely we're seeing more delays across the country. like you said, bad weather not only across the west but here in the southeast we're seeing 20% of the flights delayed here at atlanta airport. that being said a lot of travelers are getting up early and getting flights hopefully to prevent some of those delays. one of the smart travelers was eugene. where did you come from this morning? >> chicago. >> reporter: you booked your flight very early and had no problems. tell me about it. >> woke up 4:00 central time. got a cab and went to o'hare and easy out at 6 in the morning. >> reporter: we saw travelers experiencing delays last week. is that why you wanted to
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get on the road earlier. >> absolutely. i didn't want a delay. >> reporter: spending christmas with your family? >> my mom and dad and cousins. >> reporter: congratulations to getting through earlier so you didn't experience any delays. merry christmas. that being said, gregg, we could see flights delayed later on. we see the storm system moving across the united states so people may not be as lucky as the days continuers elizabeth, the rest of the day, what does that look like? >> we expect to see the delays start to pick up across the country. the board was totally clear this morning. right now we're starting to see just a few delays. we anticipate that as the get later and later a lot of flights will be delayed. that being said the system is moving across the country so we think a lot of travelers are very happy they're getting home to family and friends and may have a white christmas may not be quite as excited after the big day, because, gregg, i think the system will delay a lot of
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travelers. gregg: yeah, that is the prediction. elizabeth prann in atlanta. elizabeth, thank you. heather? heather: big changes meantime may be coming at air part security checkpoints. the tsa is testing a new program that would allow passengers to get on their planes faster. that's good news, right? maybe? well, it's called managed incluing -- inclusion and it would not require people to take off their shoes, belts and their coats. gregg is looking up. he likes that. or take computer laptops and liquids out of carry-on bags. really? you still have to get the onceover from a bomb-sniffing dog as well as an agent trained to detect suspicious behavior. the program is tested at airports in tampa and indianapolis. the opening bell sounding moments ago. take a look at the markets right now and trading expected to be light due to the holiday of course. the dow jones down, 39
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points. s&p slipping five points, six points, and the nasdaq down 12 points, after closing down 120 points on friday at 13,190. its worse drop since mid-november on continued concerns over the looming fiscal cliff of course. we keep an eye on the markets throughout the show for you so stay tuned. gregg: congress now on holiday break while the fiscal cliff deadline looms. by the way we just got an urgent bulletin. peter barnes at the fox business network, that administration officials say the staff discussions are continuing even though the president's in hawaii. most everybody is vacated the capitol. but we're eight days away until the spending cuts and big tax hikes kick in for every american and at this moment the negotiations really do appear to be at a standstill notwithstanding talks. there are serious questions whether a compromise could
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be reached. lawmakerses warn no deal could plunge our economy into recession. here is senator joe lieberman. >> it's the first time i feel it is more likely we will go over the cliff than not and, if we allow that to happen it will be the most colossal, consequential act of congressional irresponsibility in a long time, maybe ever in american history because of the impact it will have on almost every american. gregg: marjorie clifton, former consultant to the obama campaign and principal of clifton consulting and tony sayegh, worked former vice-presidential nominee jack kemp and take radio news service. merry christmas. marjorie, let me start with you. past presidents who were very successful forcing a compromise on big legislation, talking about lyndon johnson, bill clinton, they would devote countless hours, days and nights working with lawmakers,
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arguing and persuading and, horse trading and searching for ways to get a deal done. this president seems to have done none of that. even democrats are complaining that he has been uninvolved and demuch at thatted in the actual negotiations. fair criticism? >> well, i think that he definitely has taken to the head on the negotiations but where the real negotiations have to happen now because we had boehner who basically skipped town, said, look, we're done, wasn't successful getting a deal in the house and now all eyes are on the senate. where negotiations need to happen is with mitch mcconnell because this will have to, if we're going to get a deal done originate in the senate. really the roadblock, absolutely democrats will have to compromise on spending cuts 100% but republicans where we have a standstill on this idealogical difference do we raise taxes at all so yeah. gregg: let me ask tony about that since he is the republican. speaker boehner, tony, couldn't even bring his plan up for a vote.
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i mean it was pretty embarrassing. has he lost control of his own party and failed in his job as leader in the house? >> well, look, speaker boehner has a very hard task and he has already tried ernestly you say a lot of things about him but can't say he hasn't tried to bring two ideas in the forefront. one that works within the bowles-simpson, bipartisan debt commission's framework of tax revenue being part of it but the majority of reform coming from spending cuts. he had the plan b which i think fairly raises threshold. gregg: that was easy for republicans to pass and he couldn't even get votes to put it on the floor. >> without a doubt, gregg, that was a failure of leadership but i think plan b should have been plan a. we knew rate hikes were going to happen regardless. we didn't want them but they are going to happen. at least raise the threshold and pivot the conversation back to spending. to marjorie's point, look, democrats have their own up issues internally. nancy pelosi leader
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democrats in the house and harry reid, leader of senate democrats essentially saying entitlements are off the table when we know entitlements are the biggest drivers of debt. gregg: there may be a reason for that. marjorie, senator john barosso chairman of the republican policy committee put his finger on it. he believes the president is eager to go over the cliff for political reasons because he senses victory at the bottom of the cliff. those are his words verbatim and, you know, then the president gets to punish republicans. and he also might get more money in a for taxpayers, from taxpayers to expand the government. what about that? >> well i have a really hard time believing anybody, republicans or democrats would win from going over the cliff. talking about potentially putting country in recession, what it would do to the markets. here's the deal. these type of negotiations what we lost a $4 trillion opportunity when boehner and obama were at the table having talks prior to the holiday. what we're looking at really
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condensed timeline of $1.5 trillion. kay bailey hutchison and other senate republicans come to the table and said look, i'm more you let's get a deal done. this roadblock is more on, are we going to be willing to raise taxes. gregg: marjorie, "the wall street journal" had a fascinating look at the negotiations. they talked to a participant. let me just read you one passage. at one point, according to the notes taken by a participant, speaker boehner told the president, quote, i put $800 billion in tax revenue on the table for you. what do i get for that? the response from the president? you get nothing. i get that for free. that is not negotiations, is it, marjorie? >> well, but you have had similar deals made by democrats where they have come to the table said here's what we're willing to do. this will take bipartisan compromises. gregg: that is not bipartisan that. i get everything for free.
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>> in that same "wall street journal" article, gregg, also referenced an exchange with speaker boehner and the president in which the president literally almost like a thug, said to the speaker i'm going to embarass you in the state of the union and my inaugural speech if you don't work with me and get a deal. gregg: tony, it is looking likely later this week harry reid will be able to pass a bill in the senate that extends the bush tax cuts for folks making less than 250,000 and extend unemployment benefits. it then goes to the house. i would think that it could pass in the house with almost every democrat and some moderate republicans. tony, if that happens, your party, republicans are going to wish they passed boehner's plan. about, right? >> well, look, that would be essentially a unilateral disarmiment for the gop which is a nice christmas gift to the president but nothing that is going to really solve the problem. if there is going to be a stopgap, all tax cuts need to be extended until
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washington gets its act together. gregg: you're dodging my question. republicans will wish they voted for plan b, tony. tony? >> gregg, the essential point is this, we have to solve the problem. we can no longer play this game and kick the can down the road. so if we're going to do it at least give the markets, the stability, let the bush tax cuts --. gregg: last question, marjorie. the whole fiscal cliff crisis is all about finding a way to cut the $16 trillion plus debt. and yet the president is demanding new spending, more spending. is it no wonder that people think he is just not serious about this? >> well, i think it's a reexamination of spending. i think that is more realistic way to look at it. you can't cut specific programs. gregg: he is saying give me 50 billion more. >> we know that -- >> increasing is reevaluating it meaning to add more tonight.
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what we know over 60% of the americans don't want social security, they still want medicare. gregg: we are not taking away medicare and social security. >> marjorie we're sustaining them for future generations because they're on a path of unsustainability. >> you know what i'm going to do? get my little elf on the shelf and put them in the halls of congress and report back to santa all the bad behavior going on. we need compromise, no question. >> the grinch is in hawaii. gregg: if we could put you two together in a room i know we could get a compromise. >> i know we could. gregg: tony, i could easily cut 4 trillion. give me an hour. tony, marjorie, good to see you both. heather: in an hour? gregg: in two hours i could do it. heather: i believe you. new fallout after egypt's election as a hard-line islamic party takes one step closer to controlling just about all of egypt's major power centers. we'll talk with general jack keane next whether this is
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one of america's worst case scenarios coming true. gregg: we'll show you how vandals tried to steal the holiday spirit from one community and the response since. >> put out a really nice display for the community and our parish community and really sad when somebody takes it upon themselves to wreck it for everyone. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty.
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and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please?
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heather: egypt on the brink of new turmoil after voters approve an islamic-backed constitution setting the stage for more protests. after spending decades in the shadow of power the muslim brotherhood has become a dominant force in egypt. their growing power presenting big security challenges for the u.s. because egypt has long been seen as a pillar of stability in the middle east. joining us now live, general jack keane, retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the army and a fox news military analyst. thank you so much for joining us. >> good to be here. heather: so with the passage of a devisive constitution, egypt's islamist leadership has secured the tightest grip on power since hosni mubarak's ouster two years ago and laid the foundation arguably for more of a religious state. the opposition's response is a vow to keep fighting. so what happens next? >> well, clearly what we have seen played out once again is when a country has
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had authoritarian rule has egypt has had for many, many decades, when they finally transition to democracy they truly don't internalize the principles of democracy. we find another authoritarian leader who seizes power, undermines his political opponents. in this case he ramrodded through a constitutional referendum where he did not let his political opponents really contribute to the construction of it. he took power away from the judiciary and changed out the military leaders. he is clearly moving towards an islamist state as this referendum is currently constructed. heather: and as they move closer to an islamist state what does ma mean for the united states? >> well certainly i think it will be challenging to us for sure. much as iraq was, and is today, you know, malaki did very much the same thing. he undermined his opponents, he seized power and now he is a lined with the iranians and a bit of a troublemaker in the region for the united
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states. in terms of the question you just asked about egypt, i think what morsi wants pretty much is the same deal that mubarak had with the united states government and that is, i'll support you are foreign policy initiatives in the region by and large if you stay out of my internal affairs. i think that's where he is right now. it appears like the united states government is doing just that. heather: take this beyond the borders of egypt to the area of the middle east, what does this mean for the rest of the ream on? >> well, it is pretty significant. egypt is the a very influential country. even though it is one of the poorest countries in the region, it is a powerful arab country. it has a powerful military for sure and has significant intellectual and cultural influence on the region. so what goes on in egypt truly matters. listen, the contours of this revolutionary change taking place in the middle east, certainly the catalyst for
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it was democratic and social reform and economic opportunity but the radicals, the muslim brotherhood, are easy seeing the opportunity to advantage themselves geopolitically in the region. that is the danger here. that this continues to move in that direction in other parts of the region. heather: that's a warning that we heard early on from you and so many of our analysts. thank you so much general jack keane for joining us. thank you. >> merry christmas. heather: merry christmas. gregg: coming up an injured vet making a difference in his community this holiday season with a gift of light. look at that. we're going to show you a lot more of the heart-warming details straight ahead.
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heather: welcome back. john folks just like to wait until the last minute. christmas shoppers we're talking about, still flocking to the stores. this is the scene in greendale wisconsin. customers have different reasons for making the last frantic dash. >> there are a lot of last-minute deals. i have a handful of coupons for macy's kohl's, penney's. best time to use them. coming out at the last minute because i love to people watch. >> we're seeing a little bit more men this weekend than we usually do. >> as soon as the store
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opens i like to get in and out. >> i have one less day and i still have to bake. heather: major chain department stores say they are staying open longer to accommodate that final surge, gregg? gregg: amazing how some people procrastinate. just like the federal government. one injured veteran is making a difference in his community this holiday season, single-handedly putting on an amazing light show for all his neighbors. ron average from our fox affiliate kwbt has this report. >> reporter: the light display is beautiful on essex off wick road near wayne road, not far from metro airport in romulus. the way it was built is equally impressive. >> well, it is christmas and i like christmas. so great nephews, they like lights. so, this is my christmas gift to them. >> reporter: dan taylor is disabled vet. served on the uss enterprise in the navy. dan lost a leg to diabetes
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but still laid out the entire light show and his neighbors and everyone who drives by seem to love it. >> you talk about super dan here. this man is amazing. he actually has one leg. he has diabetes, bless his heart. he did more with a man with one leg than i have seen a lot of men with like two legs. he has been climbing ladders here at the home. look at it. it is just amazing. my heart fills out. >> reporter: dan somehow gets up and down his ladder and strings lights. he has only display on his block. >> he got one leg. did it with a wheelchair or something. that was so awesome what he did. >> reporter: dan got help from his niece's young sons. the lights also serve as comfort for the family. dan lost his wife and his niece lost her husband. the christmas season is so very special to this close-knit family. >> just means a lot. he lost his wife a few
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months before i lost my husband. and, like he said, god, god works in mysterious ways. we have our little family here that he put together. >> you don't look at it as a disability or a handicap. with god everything is possible. so i took my time and, started hanging lights. gregg: that is ron savage from our affiliate j.b. k in detroit. what a wonderful guy. heather: you were out hanging christmas lights yourself. gregg: i surely was. but i have all my limbs. so easy thing for me to do. i don't know how he did some of that. that is pretty remarkable. good for him. thoughtful guy. heather: the growing debate on gun control getting red hot and the head of the nra stands his ground on how to protect schools across the country. we'll have the latest on this developing story coming up. >> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed
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security in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy. i'll tell you what the american people, i think the american people think it's crazy not to do it. it's the one thing that would keep people safe.
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heather: thousands of people celebrating christmas eve in the holy land where big crowds are gathering for the annual tree-lighting ceremony in bethlehem. take a look at this beautiful sight. this is live look at manger square in the town where christ was born. the tree right outside the church of the nativity, beautiful sight there. as we well come you to a brand new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm heather childers in for martha maccallum. gregg: isn't that pretty? i'm gregg jarrett in for bill. that scene showing us there is a little hope out in the world though it is hard to find in washington these days. president obama spending
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holidays in beautiful hawaii where reports now surfaced where he is looking to strike a smaller fiscal deal that would extend tax cuts for the middle class but not tackling any spending cuts. chief white house correspondent ed henry is live in honolulu with more. ed, for the first time, people like joe lieberman are saying i really think we'll go over the cliff. what do you hear? >> reporter: it's a real possibility, you're right. we're a week out. people on both sides have been talking this thing to death. it might need a christmas miracle at this point to avoid going off the cliff. the president scaled back plan basically would extend unemmoment benefits for two million people who will lose them a week after christmas if there is no deal. he also wants to extend tax cuts for 98% of americans. you heard him talk about that again and again. that level of $250,000 or less. the republicans have not afreed to that on the hill
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obviously. when you talk to folks like senator lindsey graham, they say the big issue is not taxes, it is spending cuts. take a listen. >> if you want leaders you have to lead. the president has been a pathetic fiscal leader. he produces three budgets and can't get one vote for any of his budgets. here is what i would vote, revenues including tax rate hikes, even though i don't like them to save the country from becoming greece. i will not set aside the 1.2 trillion in cuts. >> reporter: talking about $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. the president's scaled back plan i mentioned dealing with unemployment benefits, dealing with taxes, leaves the issue of domestic spending cuts basically after the holidays. that is why some republicans like graham are skeptical. gregg: is it fair to say democrats are adamant there will not be a deal without taxes going up? >> yeah. when you talk to white house officials they say, they're sort of mystified that speaker boehner is still
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arguing about the level on tax rates going up because the president ran on this back in the campaign. he won the election, and, since the day after the election he has been saying this is what's going to happen to get a deal. that you have to have rates go up. that is basically what senator chuck schumer said yesterday. take a listen. >> on taxes, i know it is hard for the republicans but the president ran on that platform, 250, no tax increases people below but taxes for people above. he won. 60% of the voters were for it in exit polls including some republicans. >> reporter: where we have been really throughout this entire debate which is probably maddening for a lot of our viewers both sides duking it, not making a lot of progress. they're contacting at staff level between congressional republicans and white house. no contact between president and speaker boehner recent
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days. this hasn't moved forward. what will likely happen they will continue to celebrate the christmas holidays. very likely a day or two after christmas the president will fly back to d.c., sit down with congressional leaders to figure this out, gregg. >> ed henry looks amazing as fresh as a daisy at 5:03 a.m. in honolulu. has the red pocket square there for christmas and wearing bermuda shorts and flip-flops before the camera level. >> reporter: pretty much. gregg: nice touch. merry christmas. >> you too. heather: we're getting holiday apologies from idaho republican senator michael crapo after he was arrested and charged with dui just outside of washington, d.c. arlington, virginia police said senator crapo was stopped after running a red light early sunday morning. he was arrested after failing a sobriety test. senator crapo released a statement apologizing for the incident saying in part,
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quote, i accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter. i will also undertake measures to insure this circumstance is it never repeated. senator crapo is do due in court, january 4th, gregg. gregg: we're watching a situation with president h.w. bush this morning as we're awaiting for his release from a houston hospital. the 88-year-old president is undergoing treatment for a bronchitis related cough for over a month. last week his doctors said they hoped to have him home for the holidays. they since decided to hold off on final release date until the president, quote, built up all his energy. we certainly wish him well. heather: hope he does that soon and able to get home. gregg: that would be nice. heather: back in washington, there is a growing debate over gun control in this country following the school shooting in connecticut more than a week ago. the national rifle association doubling down on its opposition to any new
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gun laws. instead offering other alternatives to crack down on gun violence. steve centanni live for us in washington. so, steve, what exactly did the nra president have to say over the weekend? >> reporter: well, wayne laperriere saying there was no more horrible tragedy than that shooting at sandy hook elementary up in connecticut and he understands the grief of those parents and the national mood following that tragedy. that he explained is exactly why he's making his proposal. listen. >> i'm telling you what i think will make people safe and what every mom and dad will make them feel better. when they drop their kid off at school in january, is if we have a police officer in that school, a good guy, that if some horrible monster tries to do something they will be there to protect them. >> reporter: even some republican who is support a comprehensive approach to the problem of mass violence are questioning the idea of armed guards in schools. >> if my memory is correct
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there actually was an armed individual at columbine years ago and it didn't prevent that tragedy. so i think we need a comprehensive approach. >> i think decisions about schools ought to be made at the local level. i would not want a national effort to say you have to do this at schools. i say local education decisions are best made at the local level. >> reporter: independent senator joe lieberman says gun control needs to be on the table along with all other possible solutions, heather. heather: steve, how are democrats reacting to the in. ra proposal? >> reporter: predictably they don't buy it and like it one bit. some are predicting laperriere's stand will help their cause. >> i think he is so extreme and so tone deaf he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the congress. >> we have 130,000 elementary and secondary schools in this country. if we have two officers in each that would cost $25
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billion. where is that money going to come from? >> reporter: senator dianne feinstein planning to introduce a new ban on assault weapons when congress reconvenes next month. heather: steve centanni in washington. thank you, steve. >> reporter: you bet. gregg: one town agrees on the nr with the nra. altoona, alabama, making sure one of its four officers are at the elementary school during school days. town residents seem to be on board with that. >> so thankful somebody will be here to stop that person because the person, the first thing i thought of is how rural we are here. that was a little rural town too, that never thought anything like that would happen to them. but we don't think that is going to happen to us either. >> we react we our emotion, if we don't do something for
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our school now i don't think we ever will. there is always something to be done but having an officer there is the first line of defense. it drastically reduces response time. >> these teachers would take a bullet for their children and just a lot to ask because i know how much they love our children. and they do. i thank them so much. gregg: well the chief of police says the new commitment will cost a beg chunk of his budget but he is not willing to take any chances with the safety of children. heather: to a fox weather alert now on a massive winter storm that is also causing dangerous driving conditions out west. take a look at this. this is interstate 80, the main route from act meant -- sacramento to reno, negative vaud. police are requiring chains on all vehicles except four wheel drives and those with snow tires. you can see why right there. chief meteorologist rick
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reichmuth live in the fox extreme weather center. over the river and through the woods to grandma's house if you have snow tires, right? >> that is across the sierra nevada pass. that often happens when they get snow and get a lot of it. they got six feet of snow. great news for all the ski resorts there. they need that for the business. last year they were certainly so dry. we'll be dealing with more problems. two storms i will show you. cold air is in place. it is cold down across parts of the south. just 35 in texas. notice this, 67 in new orleans. i will point that out in a second why that matters. here is the west coast storm. it was a big deal in california. rain in southern california. it is getting its act together. the other storm across out the east. this is minor storm and priest cursor what we'll be dealing with wednesday. this is today. go forward in the radar. look at that. snow tonight. some people will be very happy to get a little bit of
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a white christmas on christmas eve into christmas morning. it will be an inch to three inches of snow. it will not cause any big problems. you see this coming back behind it, 9:00 a.m. wednesday morning this that other storm. this is that storm across parts of the west right now. we're talking about snow across the rockies but it slowly moves here and by tomorrow we're talking about snow potentially in places like oklahoma and the panhandle of texas. this is 3:00 in the morning tomorrow and a few storms start to pop up here in louis. there are two sides to this storm tomorrow. one is snowy winter side. the other one is all of this rain you see down here across parts of the deep south. i point that out because we have really significant tornado threat tomorrow. christmas day, we already have a moderate risk issue by the storm prediction center for parts of louisiana and central mississippi and parts of alabama. the entire area likely to see significant weather but we could be talking about large and destructive
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tornados tomorrow. it will be christmas. people won't be thinking about that. unfortunately we could have a dangerous situation setting up here. snow on one side, heather. but also a severe weather side to this. that same storm causes travel problems for us wednesday and thursday into the ohio valley into the northeast. heather: rick are the tornados unusual this time of year? you're not normally talking about tornados. >> you think of them in spring. get them in december, we certainly can but we're kind of looking at setup for bigger, more destructive tornados than you typically see in december and unfortunately on christmas day. heather: thank you, rick. >> you bet. gregg: it will be tough traveling especially on wednesday. heather: it is. i will be back by wednesday. gregg: are you sure? heather: i better be back by wednesday. gregg: what makes sure you will be back by wednesday? heather: the airline is listen and being make sure i get back. gregg: if i'm here by my lonesome you will know why. okay. the battle over gun control is heating up as the head of
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the nra comes under fire after calling for armed guards at our nation's school. charles live hirt is coming up next. heather: a dire warning from south korea. why it says the u.s. mainland could be in danger following north korea's controversial missile launch two weeks ago. gregg: as holiday shoppers grab last-minute gifts retailers, they're counting up their receipts. a winner has been declared in the battle for the u.s. shopping dollar. coming up how american-made products fared against chinese-made merchandise.
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heather: welcome back. new developments to tell but in connecticut involving the aftermath of hurricane sandy, another big story that is affecting the state. the governor announcing that fema is extending the deadline for applying for assistance, from the end of this month to january 28th
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next year. fema wants to make sure that no one runs out of time in looking for help. it already given more than $20 million to storm victims in connecticut. gregg: turning back now to the political fight that's brewing over gun control. the head of the national rifle association, the nra, ripping the media, for blaming guns for the connecticut school shootings. instead nra head, wayne laperriere standing by his call for armed guards in our nation's schools as a way to curb gun violence. take a look at this. >> this is "new york post", a conservative publication, i don't think part of the media conspiracy you talk about, nra loon, bizarre rant over new town. hartford, courrant headline says nra response falls flat. the congressman from the district of newtown, tweeted this, washinging out of another funeral and handed
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nra transcript, most resvelting -- revolting tone-deaf statement i ever seen. just reaction to harsh reaction to your words? >> if it is crazy to call putting police and armed security in the our schools to protect our children, call me crazy. i tell you what, the american people think it is crazy not to do it. it is the one thing that would keep people safe. gregg: charlie hirt, is a columnist at "the washington times" and charlie, as to the issue of putting armed guards in schools, that was recommended before a long time ago, wasn't it, by bill clinton? >> yeah, indeed it was, gregg. but you, know, one of the things that i hate the most about these sorts of tragedies is once all the dust settles everybody comes out and they all say the exact same things over and over and over again. gregg: right. >> and the notion that, you know, wayne laperriere would come out, would be nice, i don't know, maybe he sort of reached out to the other side said something a little
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bit different. >> right. >> instead goes back to same old worn out talking points. gregg: sure. >> that i think really do fall flat, fail to reach out to the other side and --. gregg: i watched it on friday and, look, even conservatives went after laperriere. in fact here's jonathan tobin, senior editor at commentary magazine a conservative magazine. take a look at this. laperriere delivered a stride ant rant made even his generally sensible idea of ramping up security at schools sound idiotic, refusing to contemplate small changes in existing laws, nra lost its chance to get back into the debate other than in terms a villain in the reality play about a murder of innocents. is it in a way kind of a pr disaster. >> it was failure in terms of reaching out to the other side and sort of saying something that everybody could agree upon because of
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course the vast majority of what he said actually did make sense. he was making, he was making all the very important points about, you know the failure of gun legislation to do things. of course the notion that somebody like chuck schumer is, he doesn't know a thing about guns, the idea that he will come out and come up with some plan for banning guns like me coming into, you know, new york city and setting up guidelines for falafel vendors. it is idiocy. the way sort of washington works so often. they come up with sort of paper solution, solutions that paper over the real problem because they just want an answer that sounds pat and sounds easy. gregg: laperriere blamed everything and everyone. he blamed videogames. he blamed music. he blamed hollywood movies. and then in one rather bizarre scee. did, he blamed media reporting the story as if we should have ignored a
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massacre by covering it we're sort of elevating and inspiring. i mean that just doesn't make any sense. >> i mean, a lot of what he said, a lot of the way he said a lot of these things was, like you said, a pr disaster, but i certainly think, the conversation we're not having right now is, you know, the effects of hollywood, effects of thee movies, effects of violent videogames on children. you put a guy in a flight simulator for 100 hours and take him out and let him fly a billion dollar fighter jet. gregg: right. >> all across the country you have people sitting in front of these simulator machines, videogames where they're killing people over and over and over again without compunction. gregg: this kid apparently doing. had the basement set up for the violent video games. >> yeah. why aren't we talking about that. i mean that --. gregg: mental illness. there needs to be a big discussion on that. charlie, good to see you. thanks very much.
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happy holidays. merry christmas. >> too. heather: coming up, new evidence that north korea may have developed a rocket that could reach the u.s. mainland. we will tell you what south korean officials just uncovered and which parts of the u.s. are moses septemberable to an attack. gregg: a new report that the u.s. has now overtaken china a critical category. how american shoppers helped lead the way. ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction
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gregg: south korea warning the north has develop ad rocket that the could reach the u.s. mainland. this following pongyang's december 12th missile launch that it claims was to put a weather satellite into orbit. the united nations and others say it was aimed attesting ballistic missile technology. south korean officials say they analyzed parts of the first stage rocket and determined it had a range of more than 6200 miles theoretically putting the u.s. west coast in its range. meanwhile pongyang claims
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the south is trying to engage in psychological warfare by lighting a giant steel christmas tree close to the border. many in north korea associate christianity with foreign interference. heather: this christmas don't be surprised if you happen to unwrap more than a few gifts with the words, made in america, on the inside. online retailers selling only american-made goods are more popular than ever. this holiday season they are seeing sales spike. william la jeunesse has this story for us live from los angeles. so, william, will we be seeing more, red, white and blue than red and green tonight? >> not yet, heather. things are looking up in the u.s. but we're not going to replace all the low-skilled manufacturing jobs that went to china right away, but, there are a lot of these sites, dozens of shopping sites, dedicated to products specifically made and assembled in the u.s. and easy to measure their
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increase in sales and they're finding that americans are willing to pay a little more for u.s. products. one of the sites is made in the usa forever.com. his numbers have doubled year-over-year. its founder says some buyers want better quality goods. others understand buying more u.s.-made products does create demand and leads to more u.s. manufacturing jobs, so-called multiplier effect. >> we have more than doubled in the past year and it is growing like crazy. people are really starting to wake up it to the made in the usa issue. if we bought more what we made here in the nation we would put a lot of people to work and get those people paying taxes. >> reporter: his number one best seller american jeans. you can buy toys, electronics, a lot of clothing, garden tools, garage tools, that kind of thing. heather? heather: is this fleeting thing because of recession and of course political rhetoric we hear to buy american? >> reporter: yeah, that's a little bit of it but
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consultants think we lost a lot of manufacturing jobs to china where wages are say, $300 a month, compared to the low skilled job in the u.s. will pay $2,000 a month in all likelihood. however wages in china are expected to increase by up to 30% by 2015. that will eliminate some of their competitive advantage of the also, in some is businesses like furniture, fabricated metals, plastic it is, some electronics, experts think the u.s. will see reshoring, $3 billion worth of manufacturing jobs coming back to the u.s. but in the global economy, we're not just competing against china but vietnam and mexico and we still have an edge in highly-skilled manufacturing like aerospace and heavy equipment. but do not expect that we're going to see return to say 50 years ago, when 28% of the jobs in the u.s. were manufacturing jobs compared to just 8% today but things are looking up. if we start thinking this
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way, that could lead to more of us thinking hey, you know, if there was a buy usa store for christmas, you would be more inclined to go in that, i think, rather than just online sales. heather? heather: totally agreed. good way to think there. thank you very much, we appreciate it. william la jeunesse reporting live for us. >> reporter: you bet. gregg: we're bracing for a new wave of regulations from washington. some fearing that the proposed rules from the obama administration could be bad for business and he is he is isly during a fragile economic recovery. economist steve moore will be joining us in just a moment. heather: plus one side already claiming victory in egypt's controversial new constitution fight. the latest news coming out of cairo. that is coming up. to the best vacation spot on earth. (all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabam louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible.
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thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph. and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. right after mississippi. you mean alabama. say louisianrt. this invitation is brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.
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gregg: updating now breaking news out of webster new york, near rochester. two firemen have been killed
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after a gunman opened fire as these firefighters were reporting to the scene of this blaze here. two other firefighters have been hit by gunshots and are being treated at a local hospital. all of this happening outside of rochester new york. here is more now from the fire marshal, take a listen. >> shortly before 6:00 this morning the west webster fire district was dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 100 block of lake road. upon arrival of the first two engine companies and firefighters in their personal vehicles they underwent gunfire from a location unknown. at this time one firefighter has selfess tr transported himself to the sea breeze side where he was transported and is in satisfactory condition at strong memorial hospital. there is a report that there may be other firefighters down. we have no further information on that.
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gregg: they are letting the fire burn because the area is not secure. s.w.a.t. team members and police are certificate -fpgs now for searching for a gunman. we will continue to follow the story. heather: now to this. a new wave of federal regulations drawing fierce criticism from republicans. among others the obama administration announcing a multi-million dollar initiative aimed at reducing soot from industrial boilers and incinerators. they say the new standards are too expensive and are bad for business. they warn that new regulations trying to stop drilling and hydraulic fracturing could hurt the nation to become independent. steven moore from the "wall street journal" joins us now. thank you for joining us. >> hi, heather. heather: i want to begin with the timing of all of this.
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the obama administration missed the october deadline, then they get all this in, first of all a notice online at 3:00pm on friday, the friday before christmas, when a lot of lawmakers have already left town. what about this? >> boy, heather i'm not so sure i think that's a coincidence that members of congress had left, the media was all on the christmas story and so on. they tried to slip all the new regulations under the radar screen. by the way thanks to fox for taking notice of this. a lot of the other media didn't notice that the regulations had been promulgated. i call this and i visible tax on the american consumer and businesses. we've been talking for the last several weeks on your show about the fiscal cliff and all the taxes that are coming but we should remember that all these regulatory costs are very expensive. they cost jobs, make things more expensive and take money out of the pocketbooks of american businesses and households.
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heather: you say that it's an invisible tax. how much is the tax going to cost? there are all sorts of estimates about the afternoon cost for a family, and they are very substantial. i've seen estimates as high as $20,000 costs per family in terms of all of the regulations that are on the economy. we obviously want smart regulations. we want clean heir and clean water, and we want work-place safety but a lot of the regulations hurt the economy and don't provide much of a benefit. you mentioned one, heather, there are all sorts of new regulations coming down the pipe dealing with drilling, and dealing with hydraulic fracturing. that has enormous up side for the american economy, for jobs if we could become energy independent dent and tkpwept the oiget the oil and natural gas. there arthere are indications that the administration is trying to hold that back to make it very difficult for drillers to get at the resource. heather: they differentiate the regulations, those that are
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deemed economically significant and those that are not. >> right. by the way there are scores and scores of these regulations, that even the white house admits, heather have a price tag to the economy of over a hundred million dollars, some of them like the one you were talking about with respect to some of the new environmental regulations could have cost the economy over a billion dollars. i guess the question is, shouldn't we really be investigating whether the costs of these regulations exceed the benefits? that is not something that is happening in washington and it could have a very harmful effect i when you have 20 million americans unemployed today. >> they projected a loss of 887,000 jobs annually from the administration's regulatory agenda. so we'll see. >> by the way, don't forget, heather, we haven't even mentioned the other big area of regulation that is coming down the pipe, which is the new healthcare law that has literally hundreds if not thousands of new regulations that effect employers, patients,
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hospitalses, medical device manufacturers. that will be a negative for the economy too. if you hire a worker that works over 30 hours a week those employees will have all sorts of new regulations in terms of the costs that you have to incur. these regulations hit you everywhere coming and going. heather: thank you so much, steven. we appreciate it. >> thank you, merry christmas. heather: merry christmas to you. gregg: we are awaiting the official results of a critical vote in egypt this morning on a new hard-line constitution favored by islamist president mohammed morsi. early exit polls suggest about 60% of egyptians are in favor, and that has the country's muslim brotherhood party already declaring victory. amy kellogg is live from london. she's been following it from there. amy, why are these preliminary results so controversial? >> reporter: well, they are controversial, gregg, because the opposition, and that would be largely the secular groups,
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the liberals, and the christians say they they did not have a fair stake in the body that drew up this constitution. there have already been allegations of voter fraud in this process and frankly only a third of egypt's eligible voters turned out. if this constitution does pass there are people who say it doesn't have a whole lot of legitimacy. the judges are looking into these claims of irregularities, and that may be why we don't have the results of a process that began over a week ago. this is an important moment because this new document is really meant to inch vine all inshrine everything to the citizens that the old one did not. they say it's too skewed towards the islamistss and doesn't go far enough in protecting women's rights and freedom of speech.
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the constitution does have long protect being awful the above. critics find some of that language less than convincing because there are some add ons that appear to dial back on the freedoms that are spelled out. that said, gregg, as you mentioned at beginning the muslim brotherhood is already declaring victory saying this is the first real positive experiment in democracy that the new country has experienced. gregg: amy kellogg live in london, amy, thank you. heather: some say the u.s. has become a throw away society, if something is broken or outdated we just pitch it rather than try to fix it. because of the struggling economy that mentality, it may be starting to change. dominique d-natali is live for us in los angeles with more on this this morning. good morning, this sounds like a good idea to me. >> it certainly is. this is something we all do. the latest sparkly gadget comes out and we toss out the old
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one. more and more people are rejecting our throw away society and learning how to fix it themselves. everything old is new again at west seattle fixer's collective. >> a group of us that like to get together and just help each other fix our whatever -- whatever we own. >> from sewing machines, to fans, to lawn mowers. if it's broke they'll try to fix it. repair groups have flourished in european are now spreading to the united states. >> i like the idea of reusing something that already had a life, already been built. create its environmental footprints. >> they say they help people save the planet. >> i think the throw away culture motivates a lot of us to come here hapb just try to fig and just try to fight it. the economy has definitely played a role. >> the minute something breaks, or the minute the newest gadget comes out people have to get the
quote
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new one and throw the old one away. and we don't have to live like that. it's expensive, and what are we doing to the planet? >> well, heather most of these groups are free to join, or they charge about 5 bucks to rent out the meeting space. over in year they call them repair cafes, some of the groups receive half a million dollars in funding, donations or private donors. in the u.s. we are a little bit more self-sufficient but it's certainly taking off. heather: thank you very much, we appreciate it. gregg: as far as christmas presents go this time of year, this one really takes the cake. after losing her beloved kane more than nine months ago an arizona woman had given up hope for a happy reunion when they are dog was found wandering around on a oregon highway more h-pb a thousanmore than a thousand miles away. listen to this. >> witnessing that in my backyard -- i wish dogs could
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talk. i couldn't ask for anything more. it was the best christmas every. >> she was able to insure kane's safe return through petition could he and a group of people who they -d with money to get him back home. >> they had a sign for him. when he got off the plane he saw his name. >> i'm sure he misses his phaoefplts. heather: is it legal to fire someone who is too attractive. gregg: i think i know the answer to you. a panel is here to weigh in on a judge's surprise ruling. heather: a young cancer patient making a big difference this holiday season. how this determined 9-year-old girl is helping kids in her same situation. it's heart warming and you don't want to miss it. [ malennouncer ] it's tt time of year again.
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[ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8. or...try kids boxes! [ buzzing ] bye dad. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ] [ horn honks ] [ buzzing continues ] [ male announcer ] the sprint drive first app. blocks and replies to texts while you drive. we can live without the &. visit sprint.com/drive. >> the iowa supreme court has ruled that a woman is apparently too attractive to keep her job. 32-year-old melissa nelson spent a decade working as a dental assistant until she was fired in 2010 claiming she was a threat
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to her boss' marriage. she sued her boss for gender discrimination. a judge ruled she had no case since she wasn't fired because of her gender, but because she was a threat to family values. the iowa supreme court unbelievably has just upheld that ruling unanimously, 7-0, that bosses can fire employees they see as an irresistible attraction. joining me now arthur aidala, a criminal defense attorney, fox news league hal analyst. joey jackson former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney. all right, now clearly the iowa supreme court got it wrong and when i advised arthur of that -- >> you're editorialing. >> he was going to crush me with the logic of his argument. >> they upheld the lower court judge, looked at a*ul the
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rulingall of the cases that were similar. the appeals court had no problem quickly saying that he is correct, the lower court judge is correct. there is no case here. the issue before us is not whether the jury can find whether the doctor treated the employees badly. a genuine fact exeubgs exists in unlawful gender discrimination. he works with all women, gregg, there are women all around him, including his wife. when his wife found out there was a little texting going on, she said if you want to save your marriage get rid of her, an did. this is for the marriage and sanctity of the family. gregg: did you read the iowa civil rights act? >> probably some time in 1991 when i was preparing for the new york bar. gregg: if you bothered to read the law you would have noticed that all you have to do is prove
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that gender is a factor, one factor, that's all. joey? >> arthur loves when i say this so i'm going to say it, this is outrageous. this is a blow to family values everywhere. when they couched the decision, that is the court in terms of family values. what about the values of this woman? what about equality, what about decency. what about respecting women and not treating them as objects. this decision goes too far. but consider the source, gregg, it was a decision mailed pwaoeupb seven males, which speaks to the need of having diversity on that court. when we look at the court's decision if it were not for our agenda mr. aidala she would have not been terminated. >> this was a woman running a law practice and one of her men was interfering with her marriage she could fire him as well. >> note hat gregg: the iowa civil rights act says that all one has to show is gender is a factor. in deposition the defendant said, yes, if it was a man i
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would have retained the employee, i wouldn't have fired him, therefore gender is a factor arthur. >> what if this guy was a homosexual. homosexual. gregg: he was asked that in deposition. >> if heed a male employee, the decision by the court would be kp-lt sam the same. the temptation was too much and it would jeopardize his family life. >> everyone has to be treated similarlyment when you look at this statute you look at title 7. and title 7 says if sex was a factor in this determination it makes it unlawful. the fact that somebody could be looked at and deemed to be irresistible, isn'? gregg: isn't it true, counselor that had the plaintiff been a man he would have kept his job? >> depending on the sexual orientation of his boss. isn't it true in the united states of america a person who
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puts themselves through college and then dental school and has their own business, shouldn't they be able to say, i'm firing this person, i'm firing this person, i'm keeping this person on. isn't that called employment at will? there are no unions here. >> unless, arthur they do so in a discriminatory fashion which downgrades women, devalues women. >> eight judges in the great state of iowa disagree with both of you and agree with me. >> because they are not judges. gregg: the plaintiff's attorney said she lost her job simply by showing up for work in her female body. and you know what, she is right about that. >> no, because if nine or ten other female bodies arwith the the job and they didn't get fire. gregg: i would like to wish -- >> i would hraoeurb to wish men and women alike a merry christmas. gregg: do you want me to quote oliver wendell holmes. >> no, for crying out loud. smartest legal analyst on the
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channel. gregg: i won't do it just for you. merry christmas. >> merry christmas. heather: i knew that would be fiery. that did not disappoint. it is already christmas in some parts of the world and santa is on the move. take a look. we are tracking him, how you and your kids can track old st. nick. that is coming up. and a young cancer patient bringing holiday cheer to other sick kids. we'll tell you about her big plan that's already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪
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a brave little girl diagnosed with canceree pit micing the christmas spirit after coming up with a grand plan to help out other kids in her situation. lauren demaco from our affiliate in d.c. has her story. >> gabriella million her is one very tiny nine-year-old but she has a huge heart and an extraordinary amount of good will and determination and it is because of her that sick children across the area are going to see their wishes come through. >> dear santa, i'm gabriella, the one with the tumor. >> gabriella want epd other children in her shoes to have the same opportunity. her mother saw in an ad that macy's was donating a daughter to make a wish for every letter to santa received in stores up
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to $1 million. >> make-a-wish has really touched me. >> gabriella wanted to make sure that oaths children in her shoes could have the same opportunity. her mom saw an ad for macy's belief campaign. for every letter to santa the retailer was donating a dollar to the foundation. she decided to set ha goal. >> she realized that if she could generate 10,000 letters they would donate $10,000 to make-a-wish and another child would get their wish granted. >> the chief efl helped her start a media page and her plans took off. >> the first ten days we had 21,000 letters. then reraised our goal to $50,000 thinking that was a stretch goal. then we got to a hundred thousand letters and we stopped setting goals after that will. heather: the total delivered to macy's?
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her friends at school and a synagogue had an important request from santa. clearly they weren't the only ones to pitch in. >> we have all letters of all 50 united states and every continents. heather: gabriella miller has a mission to help others. long before being diagnosed with cancer herself as age 7 she donated her hair to locks of love and donated money to a local food pantry. now she is touching hearts all around the world. >> bee have soldiers in afghanistan sending me message saying after what happened in i was so bummed out. then i read gabriella's page and i was lifted back up. >> gabriella challenged macy's to go even further. >> what if make-a-wish gets 1,020,000 letters? where are the extra 20,000 letters are they going to go. are they going to wishes for
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kids or extras. >> macy's announced it will donate an extra $25,000 in gabriella's name. >> you might have a bad day today but there is also a bright star to look forward to tomorrow. look inside. what's your bright star. thank you. happy holidays. heather: gabriella you're awesome. thank you, lauren for bringing us that story. gregg: a beautiful little girl with a huge heart hapb congratulations to macy's. gabriella you're our new hero. way to go. heather: awesome. gregg: santa is on the move don't you know delivering presents all over the world, could have winter weather, though slow him down just a bit? not to mention other holiday traefrls, including heather, the latest on prospects for getting home. we'll have it for you in a sec. heather: got to get home.
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gregg: it is already christmas morning in parts ever the world and that means santa claus is busy delivering presents to the good girls and boys around the globe, not the naughty ones, and you know who you are. norad is stepping up helping out santa as he flies to every country overt next few hours. right now santa is in china, and this year you can track santa online with apps on your phone or your tablet by visiting norad santa.org. heather: santa has gone high-tech, and no naughty kids in this room. gregg: no, everybody has been really, really good. heather: in you're still looking for that last-minute gift why not try to shoes? according to tal li tally of receipts from black friday footwear with us one of the season's hottest setting items. the huge feat -- get it. gregg: feat. heather: experts say the sudden turn around could be maybe because ofhe

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